We joined THS in the summer of 2022 and when we have completed our current sit, we will have only 13 sits (all 5 star) under our belt, but a total of 344 sit days. We are a retired couple and look for longer sits pretty much anywhere in the USA or Canada. We drive our own vehicle and sits have been from 200 miles away from home to 1800 miles away.
We have experienced all the normal (and some abnormal) happenings at sits, but nothing to make us think THS isn’t a fantastic way to visit and learn about other areas of the country.
We have also learned that there are some things you simply can’t rely on, so we carry one small tote that includes items we wished we had on hand in previous sits.
This tote includes: a sharp carving/bread knife, a sharp paring knife; 10 small containers of spices we use all the time (most sits have spices on hand, but they usually are past their best before date); a set of plastic measuring cups; a small crock pot - (4 quarts I think. There’s only two of us and many sits have huge family size crock pots); a small Keurig coffee maker (and a selection of our favourite pods); bathroom scales (less than 1/2 our sits have left a set out), and finally a good corkscrew!
We shop locally for our groceries, although we might bring a few canned goods with us.
How about you? What do you carry in your personal needs tote?
We do most of our sits internationally so we can’t take much but I think you’ve written an excellent list for those who either always check luggage or don’t fly.
Pretty much every item on your list makes sense to me!
For sits that require flights? ALWAYS have some tea bags & instant coffee.
I hate instant coffee but better than no coffee until we can do a proper shop!
The other thing we take is a good first aid kit
Mine has band-aids, bandages, polysporin, Q-tips, pain med & headache med, insect bite salve, seasickness med, antihistamines. That last one: antihistamine? A pharmacist told me that sometimes “blocked ears” were really blocked eustachian tubes and that taking an antihistamine can clear the tubes, the feeling of blocked ears. It works! Generally, the band-aids come in handiest.
Congratulations on your sits.
Your question has been discussed before on the forum. Here’s one link:
And here’s another, lengthier one:
Personally, if I’m in the UK with my car I take standard groceries including spices and gin (
), also dumbbells, kettlebells a skipping rope, yoga mat and bag of books. I don’t carry cooking equipment, just do without if owners don’t have what I need.
We have a sitter confirmed for next year who, during our video chat, said he brings everything sheets, pillows, duvet plus everything else. But each to their own……
Hi iam not a house sitter.but why do you take all that stuff with you?.i have just joined but iam sure nearly all house sit owners have all this stuff and really would, nt you using it.
We do back-to-back sitting all over Europe and have to stick to airline’s 20kg weight limit (one 20kg suitcase each, plus a backpack each) so only carry the bare necessities! However, I do have a portable coffee maker (Areopress) that I use everywhere I go, and we have a small chargeable squishy duck lamp that we take with us too, because some bedrooms don’t have lamps. We also have a foldable towel yoga mat and resistance bands for fitness. My fiancé loves fishing and brings his own telescopic fishing rods & tackle gear (minus the hooks) everywhere we go!
We also like to have the things we are accustomed to when we sit. If we are driving or flying with free luggage we bring spices, paring knife, cutting boards, collapsible strainer, coffee machine with a metal pot, towels, sheets, potholders, all the things some of our sitting homes do not have. Occasionally we even bring our kayaks! After so many sits with our own things it feels awkward on those more remote sits when we have no choice but to leave dirty bedding and towels when we go. On one sit we found out the everyday plates were extraordinarily costly, so we went to a thrift store and purchased some inexpensive ones for our long stay. Flexibility is key with this lifestyle, but comforts of home are also very nice to have whenever possible!
Perhaps when you’ve done a few sits, you’ll find out that HOs don’t necessarily have everything you’re used to having in your house. It’s their obligation to give us a livable house, but they don’t cater our peculiarities. For example, we have done sits in Utah at homes where they don’t use coffee so they don’t have any coffee accessories or pots.
When we did our first sit we didn’t take anything either. Now with some experience under our belt, our sits are much more comfortable.
I now learned to bring tweezers and nail cippers, grocery bags.
What HOs do not provide sheets and towels?
And what sitters are ok with that?
They have always offered sheets and towels, but we find cleaning and departing so much simpler with our own. No laundry required before leaving. However, it is common not to find some of the other things. We have been surprised how many kitchens do not have a colander, coffee pot, and/or cutting boards and potholders. Some have even been open up front about how they do not cook and have nothing much in the kitchen.
Hi i cant believe some home owers dont have anythink to cook with.how a earth do people manage.? I am a home owner and if i didnt have everything a sitter needed i would go and buy it.you dont go on holiday to bring stuff with you or having to buy it.and i only speak for myself there has to be some perks for potential housesitter. Plus if homesitters are coming from abroad it only 20kgweight limit.
We’ve done a sit where there was no kettle, no coffee maker, no spare towels, no
Hand towels, no tea towels, no bath mats, no spare bedding and no laundry basket. That’s from memory, probably more 
And for a month in rainy season in the tropics @Samanthaporter - we survived & handed it back clean and dry with 5 stars 
but it was an odd one. #takesallsorts
That is terrible, I bet that put a downing on your sit before you even started.
s m porter
It was actually funny! They were mid 30s business owners too who’d lived there ages. She did order us a French press 
#smallwins
I take my duvet, pillows, cutting knife, folk knife and spoons, coffee machine, chopping board, bowl, two size of plates, gin and wine glass, towels, tea towels.
Stupid I know, but I just like my own stuff. I must add that this is just to my UK sits.
I take my own duvet, pillows, towels, kitchen towels etc as then I dont have to sort the house owners things out on my departure. I’ve started taking my Little Henry vac now as often I have found a house owner with an inadequate vac.
I like to use as little as possible of a house owners stuff to be honest, just in case of accidents. I take my own cutlery, crockery, mug, glasses eyc as well. Crazy I know …
We do all international sits, but bring our coffee pot and our mini Bluetooth speaker as must haves. We also bring a small gift from Greece for the pet owners. If we have checked luggage, then we bring our nice hair products and body soap.